In an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic system, generally, when an abnormal discharge is caused by a charger, a load may be applied to a high voltage circuit or a load may be applied to a peripheral member if a high voltage is continuously applied to the charger. As a processing to be carried out when the abnormal discharge is caused, it is proposed to stop an operation of the image forming apparatus instantly. However, when the operation of the image forming apparatus stops during the image forming operation, a great deal of time and labor is required for removing a recording sheet such as paper.
Consequently, JP-A-2002-236435 discloses a technique for stopping an image forming operation such as a charging or developing operation when an abnormal discharge of a charger is detected and then a recording sheet is ejected by a driving operation of a driving system.